Ladbrokes-Coral merger to go through this week – report

Ladbrokes and rival firm Gala Coral could complete their merger as early as this week, according to UK newspaper The Sunday Times.

First mooted in June of last year, the agreement is set to lead to the creation of a business worth more than £2 billion (€2.3 billion/$2.6 billion).

The newspaper said that upon conclusion of the deal, which could go through in the coming days, Gala Coral will hand its senior staff a total windfall of £50 million.

However, despite the report, the two firms are yet to receive full approval from the UK Competition and Market Authority (CMA), which in May said that both operators would need to sell as many as 500 shops for the deal to go through.

In its initial ruling, the CMA said the merger could lead to a loss of competition in more than 650 localities across the UK, and the sale of land-based properties would help ease this pressure.

Ladbrokes today (Monday) also issued an update in which it said once again that although it is continuing talks with Gala Coral, there is no guarantee that a deal will go through.

“Shareholders are advised that there can be no certainty that the discussions between Ladbrokes and Gala Coral will lead to any agreement concerning the possible merger or as to the timing or terms of any such agreement and there can be no assurance that, even if reached, any such agreement would be completed,” the company said.

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